It takes a ready tide. (Letters).The story "Rain of foreign dust fuels red tides red tide: see Dinoflagellata. red tide Discoloration of seawater caused by dinoflagellates during periodic blooms (population increases). Toxic substances released by these organisms into the water may be lethal to fish and other marine life, and " (SN: 9/29/01, p. 207) correlates red tides in Florida with Saharan dust storms. The cover story of the same issue ("Dust, the thermostat thermostat, automatic device that regulates temperature in an enclosed area by controlling heating or refrigerating systems. It is commonly connected to one of these systems, turning it on or off in order to maintain a predetermined temperature. ," p. 200) dealt, in part, with dust blowing across the Mediterranean Sea Mediterranean Sea [Lat.,=in the midst of lands], the world's largest inland sea, c.965,000 sq mi (2,499,350 sq km), surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa. Geography The Mediterranean is c.2,400 mi (3,900 km) long with a maximum width of c. and the Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean [Lat.,=of Atlas], second largest ocean (c.31,800,000 sq mi/82,362,000 sq km; c.36,000,000 sq mi/93,240,000 sq km with marginal seas). Physical Geography Extent and Seas . Are there "red tides" in these areas? Are they correlated with Saharan dust? David D. Jones St. Paul, Minn. The reason the red tides correlated with algal blooms in Florida is that they oversupplied a nutrient--iron--at a critical time. Elsewhere, the extra iron might not be needed or might arrive at times when the appropriate bacteria are not present. So, effects can be very specific to time and geography. --J. Raloff |
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